By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The WIC (Women, Infants, Children) Program was developed to protect the health of low-income pregnant and post-partum people, infants, and children up to age 5. The program provides participants with vouchers that are used to purchase specific foods that are identified as being nutritious. WIC served about 6.2 million participants each month in fiscal year 2021, including almost half of all infants born in the United States. WIC is administered by the USDA, which recently announced proposed changes to the WIC food package. According to USDA’s website, “the changes will increase the current level of assistance while providing WIC state agencies with more flexibility to tailor the packages to accommodate personal and cultural food preferences and special dietary needs and increase variety and choice for WIC participants, making the program more appealing for current and potential participants.”

The goals of the proposed changes include providing “accommodations for people with… cultural and personal preferences (including, but not limited to, vegan and vegetarian diets”). It is gratifying to see this acknowledgement of vegan diets since this is something that The Vegetarian Resource Group has been promoting for many years when we submitted comments to the USDA related to WIC.

The proposed changes include

• Permanently increasing the fruit and vegetable benefit so that the dollar amount of vouchers to purchase fruits and vegetables increases 3-4 fold.
• Promoting the use of whole fruits over fruit juice..
• Expanding whole grain options to include foods like quinoa, millet, kamut, wheat berries, cornmeal, teff, buckwheat, and whole-wheat pita, English muffins, bagels, and naan.
• Providing more non-dairy substitution options such as soy-based yogurts and cheeses. These products would have to provide a specified amount of calcium and protein and, for yogurt, vitamin D. The USDA is considering including other types of plant milk in addition to soy milk if nutrient content meets requirements.
• Requiring canned beans to be offered in addition to dried.
• Requiring states to allow peanut butter and legumes to substitute for eggs. Allowing states the option of substituting tofu for eggs. The current WIC regulations do not allow substitutions for eggs.

The Vegetarian Resource Group will submit comments on the proposed changes to the WIC food package. The entire text of the proposed changes can be found here along with a link allowing you to submit your comments about the proposed changes. Comments are due by February 21, 2023.

To read more about the WIC program see:

WIC Programs Offer Foods For Vegans

WIC Farmers Market Program

Revisions to the WIC Food Package Make Sense (2014)

For short cooking video, see https://youtu.be/84T8Nph3NGU

Enjoy this Chili Fries recipe and other low-cost vegan dishes from Skyler Kilmer. See: https://www.vrg.org/blog/2020/10/15/vegan-at-the-dollar-tree-store/

Are you looking to put a new spin on your New Year’s Eve/Day meal? If so, a previous Vegan Journal article by Anna Lam serves up a number of creative Southern-style ideas including Cornbread Flapjacks with Jalapeño-Mayhaw Jelly, Hoppin’ Johns, Turnip Greens, and Seitan Ham. Have a terrific 2023!

Find the recipes here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2017issue4/2017_issue4_new_year.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Thank you to more generous donors, in 2023 The Vegetarian Resource Group will be awarding $30,000 in college scholarships! Deadline is FEBRUARY 20, 2023.

We will accept applications postmarked on or before FEBRUARY 20, 2023. Early submission is encouraged.

Applicants will be judged on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegetarian (vegan) diet/lifestyle. Payment will be made to the student’s college (U.S. based only). Winners of the scholarships give permission to release their names to the media. Applications and essays become property of The Vegetarian Resource Group. We may ask finalists for more information. Scholarship winners are contacted by e-mail or telephone. Please look at your e-mail.

If you would like to donate to additional scholarships or internships, go to www.vrg.org/donate

Applications

Please click here to download a PDF of the application. However, applicants are not required to use an application form. A neatly typed document

Please send application and attachments to [email protected] (Scholarship application and your name in subject line) or mail to The Vegetarian Resource Group, P.O. Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.

If emailing, please put your essay in a separate attachment with your first name and last initial. A PDF or Word document is preferred, but if you send a Google document, make sure permission is given so readers can access it. For more information call (410) 366-8343 or email [email protected].

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires that food labels identify the food source of all major food allergens used to make the food. These allergens are cow’s milk, eggs, fish, Crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and, as of January 1, 2023, sesame. The label must state the species of fish (for example, bass, flounder, cod) and Crustacean shellfish (for example, crab, lobster, shrimp). A sharp-eyed reader recently pointed out that the category Crustacean shellfish does not include shellfish that consumers may think of being shellfish such as clams, scallops, mussels, and oysters. These are classified as Molluscan shellfish and are not required to be listed as allergens on food labels in the United States. Most mollusks have a shell with two halves that are connected by a hinge. Other animals including octopus, snail, and squid are also classified as Molluscan shellfish and are not required to be listed as allergens.

You may wonder how this information is relevant to vegans or vegetarians who would not eat shellfish in any form. If you, like me, scan the tiny print on labels looking for “Contains statement” listing of food allergens to see if the food contains non-vegan ingredients like dairy, eggs, fish, or shellfish, you might think a food is vegan-friendly when in reality it has oyster extract as an ingredient. The oyster extract is required to be included in the ingredient listing but it doesn’t have to be included in the “Contains statement” at the end of the list of ingredients.  “Contains milk, wheat, and soy” is an example of a “Contains statement.”

According to FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education), the FDA does not consider
molluscan shellfish (scallops, clams, mussels, and oysters) to be a major allergen, so these types of shellfish do not have to be declared on food labels. Canada recognizes both kinds of shellfish as allergens.

I’ve learned my lesson, if I suspect a product could contain oysters, squid, or other Molluscan shellfish, I’ll take a careful look at the full list of ingredients.

To read more about vegans and food allergies see:

Food Allergies and a Vegan Diet

A Soy-free, Nut-free Vegan Meal Plan

Can Anything Be Done to Reduce the Risk of a Baby Developing a Peanut Allergy?

Sesame Seeds to be Included in the List of Food Allergens on Food Labels

Recent topics brought up include:

– Internships available with Factory Farm Awareness Coalition

– East Carolina University is recruiting pregnant vegan and vegetarian women to participate in a research study that examines urine and breast milk iodine concentration.

– New YouTube PETA Christmas Video featuring Toby the turkey

– The Vegetarian Resource Group Scholarship Program for graduating high school seniors promoting a veggie lifestyle in their community is offering $30,000 this year.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/VRGparentsandkids is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids around the world. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.

Salads are popular during summer months; however, you can prepare a delicious warm winter salad as well. A previous Vegan Journal article by Debra Daniels-Zeller provides recipes for Spicy Black Bean, Corn, and Couscous Salad; Buckwheat and Rice Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette; Hot Italian Bean and Pasta Salad with Broccoli; Curried Lentil Salad; Sesame Noodles with Wilted Greens; Whole Grain and Cabbage Salad with Lemon-Peanut Dressing; and Smoky Potato-Squash Salad.

Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2000nov/2000_nov_winter_salads.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only by visiting https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php

Chef Fran Costigan is coming to the American Vegan Center! The “Queen of Vegan Desserts” presents a cooking class, “Classic Chocolate Desserts,” on Saturday, January 14 at 3 p.m. Attendees will sample Almost Instant Chocolate Pudding, Mini Brooklyn Blackout Bites, Chocolate Orange Truffles, and a Chocolate Ganache Crostini. Class fee is $50 and includes a copy of Chef Fran’s amazing book Vegan Chocolate. Limited to 20 seats; registration at https://americanvegan.org/events/classic-recipes-vegan-chocolate-fran-costigan/

East Carolina University is recruiting pregnant vegan and vegetarian women to participate in a research study that examines urine and breast milk iodine concentration. We need your help in this process.

The following are the basic eligibility criteria:

• Following one of the following diet patterns: vegan or vegetarian,
• Currently pregnant,
• Willing to provide 1 sample of urine while pregnant and one sample of breast milk approximately one month after delivery,
• Willing to complete a web-based screening survey and a diet questionnaire.

Women selected for the study will receive a gift card to reimburse them for their time.

More information about the study can be found at: https://www.vegstudy.com/

To complete eligibility screening visit (please use Firefox as your browser): https://go.ecu.edu/veg-study

We sincerely appreciate your help.
Roman Pawlak, Ph,D, RD
Principal Investigator
East Carolina University

Each issue of Vegan Journal we review vegan books that stand out from the crowd. In the latest issue Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, reviewed The Vegan Athlete’s Cookbook by Anita Bean. Billed as a cookbook, it also provides sound nutritional advice for athletes as well as a discussion of the advantages of a vegan diet and suggestions for going vegan. Anita Bean uses photos, tables, and sidebars to add interest and to present information clearly. References to the scientific literature are included.

Find this book review here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2022issue4/2022_issue4_book_reviews.php

Subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA only at https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php